BY Charlene Strong

October 22 2009 1:20 PM ET

So
there, on the porch, surrounded by the mothers who raised us, a proud
father and his partner, a handful of close friends, and under the rain,
which seemingly washed everything clean and granted us a new beginning
from that moment forward, we got married.

We said some very
important things on that front porch. We promised to give the highest
priority to the tenderness, gentleness, and kindness that our marriage
deserves. We promised to not hold grudges and to remember to forgive.
We pledged to support each other in our dreams and in sickness and
health and joy and sorrow, always hoping for more joy than sorrow but
mindful that life has its own plans.